Apparatus for handling chewing gum



Sept 24, 1940.

J. W. BCWMAN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CHEWING GUM 4 Shets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled April '7, 1934 Se t. 24, 1940. I J w, BOWMAN 2,215,575 v APPARATUSFOR HANDLING CHEWING aim led April '7, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Fip 1940- J. w. BOWMAN 2,215,575

I APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CHEWING GUM Original Filed April 7. 1934 4Sheets-Sheet 3 so I a2 unnuunumu l uunuunnun ucmnncmcln Sept. 24, 1940.

J. w. BOWMAN APPARATUS FOR. HANDLING CHEWING GUM Original Filed A ri 7,1934 4 Sheets-Sheet Patented Sept. 24, 1940 APPARATUS FOR HANDLINGCHEWINGYGUM .lacob Warren Bowman, Philadelphia. Pa., assignor, by mesneassignments, to William Steell Jackson and Son, Philadelphia, Pa.-, afirm comprising William Steell Jackson and Joseph Gray JacksonApplication April 7, 1934, Serial No. 719,450

Renewed February '12, 1940 3 Claims. (Cl. 107-4? My invention relates toapparatus for handling chewing gum for presentation to a wrappingmachine.

A purpose of my invention is to condition chewing gum, to obtain adesirable consistency of coil about the nozzle of a chewing gumextruding machine.

A further purpose is to provide athermostatic control device for aheater of an extrusion nozzle.

A further purpose is to place an apcrtured sepathe gum, in a hopper fromwhich the gum is rating plate in an extruding machine back of the 5extruded as a continuous strand, the strand passdischarge nozzle of theextruding machine ing through a container in which the gum is A furtherpurpose is to construct a devicefor coated with sugar, and mechanismbeing provided applying sugar to a strand of chewing gumby within thecontainer for pulling forward the movement of a platform upon whichthe'strand of' strand of gum onto a platform on which platform gumtravels to agitate powdered sugar within the the strand assumes azig-zag or snake formation, device. the sugar being dusted about andadhering after which the forward end of the strand is reto the strand. 7shaped and longitudinally cut into individual A further purpose is tomove a strand oi? chewv I pieces to present the individually cut piecesto lug gum progressively forward by means of a sus- 15 mechanism forwrapping. pended platform which is cam actuated at one of A furtherpurpose is to provide mechanism for its ends and spring suspended at itsother end. handling chewing gum by which mass gum dough A furtherpurpose is to place re-shaping rollers is extruded into a strand of gum,sugared, moved on a cutting and wrapping machine.

progressively forward into a snake formation and A further purpose is toprovide a serrated, prefmoved to a, wrapping machine for rig-shaping,erably replaceable knife blade, for rotary operacutting into individualpieces and finally wrapped tion in connection with a Wrapping machine.with a suitable cover of paper or like material. A further purpose is toserrate the surface adja- A further purpose is to construct mechanism bycent a cutting blade in order that powdered rnatewhi h t and f chewinggum .is sugared and rial may be deposited in the serrations to prevent25 moved progressively forward from a heated exadhesion to the bladewhen elastic gummy ctruding machine to a wrapping machine, with a ri lsu h schewin um is severed. snake formation in the strand bet-r. een theex- A further pu p is to provide a rotary S t d truding machine and thewrapping machin to knife blade, which, at every revolution of the aallow for differences of timing of the different knife bla e, causes theblade o p s through a so machines and at the same time to allow thesugared strand of gum to fill the serrations in. the strand of gum to becooled. knife blade with sugar and thereby. permit cutting A furtherpurpose is to extrude a hollow strand o individual P Of s from he tra dWithof gum and to fill the center of the strand continout the gumSticking o t e b adcuously with some other material, such as candy. Afurther purpose is to cut and wrap chewing 35 A further purpose is toheat chewing gum as it gu While Wa m. v i is extruded into a continuousstrand for treating Further purposeslwill pp in the p fi with a, ugarcoating, tion and in the claims.

A fu the purpose is t provide an agitator The subject matter originallydisclosed in this 40 coating a strand of chewing gum with sugar andapplicatiQn been divided by the filing 0f Sepa- 40 the same time movingthe strand longmmp rate 2.131311021310115, namely, Serial-No. 2 334,.filed nalm ganugry 181; 19:35, for Metlgogds apgziiaigushlfog A furtherpurpose is to place an electric heating am mg c ewmg'gum an i 5 coilabout the discharge nozzle of an extruding gg 1935 for Method 0i hmdlmgchewing 5 I a a i a 4 of of more easily passed throu h the extri do 1chewmg gum Ema? dlmculw has been encounin d f g 9 tered in handlingchewing gum between a dough 5 ran P an en to f f mecha mixer and thewrapping operation. In many.

.nlsrn for moving the strand longitudinally and instances t wrapping isdone by hand. 59 permlttmg the q lag and assume a Snake I havediscovered that one of the reasons for shape, thereby allowing the gumto cool suff1. failure of the art to adopt continuous feeding of cientlyfor presentation to a shaper, cutter and gum from the mixing machine tothe wrapping wrapping machine. machine is that in the past the gum hasnot been A furtherpurpose is to place an electric heating properlycooled before presentation to the cutting or severing knife preparatoryto wrapping. Another difficulty in the past is that the gum passingthrough the extruding die of the mixing machine has not been at theproper temperature.

I believe I am the first to place gum dough in a mixing or kneadingmachine and to cause a strand of gum to-be passed continuously from themixing machine through a nozzle, with an electric heating element aboutthe nozzle to heat the nozzle and thereby cause a free and easy passageof the gum through the nozzle, after which the strand of gum is passedthrough a sugaring device where the gum is coated with sugar on anagitated platform'and at the same time moved longitudinally forward to aplatformupon which the strand assumes a snake or serpentine formation.

The strand is then moved forward to reshaping rollers adjacent awrapping machine and from the re-shaping rollers to the wrapping machineproper where the strand is cut into individual pieces. The cutting ofthe individual pieces preparatory to wrapping is accomplished by arotating knife blade having serrated side surfaces adjacent the cuttingedge of the knife. When the blade is rotated each rotation of the knifeblade passes the blade through the sugared strand and powdered sugar onthe strand engages in the serrations to allow the knife blade to passthrough the gum as it is severed.

My invention relates to the apparatus involved in overcoming thedifliculties above noted.

I will now describe my invention more in detail, referring to thedrawings, which are intended to be merely illustrative of one desirableembodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a top plan View of mechanism which may be employed inhandling chewing gum according to my improved method.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of Figure 1 takenon the line 2--2 there-- of.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of Figure 1taken on the line 33 there- Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view ofpart of the structure of Figure 1 taken on the line 4-4 thereof.

Figure 5 is a sectional top plan view of Figure 4 taken on the line 5-5thereof.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view of Figure 4 taken on the line6-6 thereof.

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view of Figure 4 taken on the line.1! thereof.

Figure 8 is a detail view of a separating plate used on my extrudingmachine, the view being taken on a line corresponding to 8-8 of Figure'4.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary detail view partly in section of part of thestructure of Figures 4-8, inclusive.

Figure 10 is a transverse sectional view of Figure 4, taken on the lineI 0--i0 thereof.

Figure 11 is an end view of Figure 4, looking from the right-hand end ofthe view, with the cover plate removed.

Figure 12 is an elevational view of one form of serrated knife bladeused in my invention.

Figure 12a is an elevational view similar to Figure 12, but illustratinga modification.

Figure 13 is an end view of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the dischargenozzle similar to Figure 4 but illustrating a modification.

Figure 15 is an enlarged top plan view of a sugaring device used in myinvention.

Figure 16 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line Iii-l8 ofFigure 15.

Figure 1'7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line l1l'l ofFigure 16.

In the drawings like numerals refer to like parts.

In carrying out my invention I place chewing gum dough in a mixing andconditioning machine 28 from which the gum, after proper conditioning,is extruded in a circular strand 2|. The strand passes longitudinallytowards and is moved progressively forward in a sugar agitator 22 fromwhich the strand discharges in a serpentine or snake formation 23resting upon a tilted platform 24, desirably assuming a right angleposition in plan view, with respect to the mixing and sugaring devices.

The strand then passes progressively through reshaping rollers 25 fromwhich it is moved while still warm, to a cutting device 26 where. thestrand is cut into individual pieces which are wrapped, the wrap endsbeing finally twisted in a wrapping machine similar to that shown inBritish Patent No. 293,907, dated July 19, 1928.

In-my improved method I prefer to employ a mixing and extruding machineof the type shown at 20, having a hopper 21 into which a mass of cookedgum dough is placed for proper conditioning.

The interior 28 of the mixing machine 28 is formed by curved casingwalls 29 which meet at the central part of the mixer to provide apartition 30. On each side of the partition 38 and in the recesses 3|and 32 of the mixer I place mixing screw members 33 and 34 havinglongitudinally extending shafts 35 and 36 fastened preferably by weldingat 31 to flanged sockets 38 and 39 at the end of the machine adjacentthe hopper 21.

Extending outwardly and integral with the flanged sockets 38 and 39 arewalls 48 that provide pockets 4| for the ends of operating shafts 42 and43. Near the end of each of the shafts 42 and 43 I insert a radiallyextending pin 44 which has its end projecting outwardly some distancefrom the shaft to fit in recesses 45 in the flanged sockets 38 and 39constituting in effect a clutch, to cause cooperative movement of thescrew members 33 and 34 on their shafts 35 and 36, the flanged sockets38 and 39 and the shafts 42 and 43 when the shafts 42 and 43 areoperated, which in the present showing is accomplished by means of maingears 46 and 41 meshing with each other to cause the screws 33 and 34 tooperate in different directions and reduction gearing, not shown, whichdrives the main gears. The re duction gearing is driven by a motor 48which op. erates the screws.

At the end of the mixing machine away from the hopper I place aseparating plate 49, securing the plate in place against the flange 50of the mixing machine casing, with a nozzle 5| having flanges 52 whichfit against the separating plate 41,, and a cover plate 53, in front ofthe separating plate 41, the plate and flanges being held together bymeans of bolts or suitablefastenings 54.

In order to have a scraping and cleaning action on the separating plateby the end blades 33 a r 2,216,675 serted longitudinally. The end of thenozzle head is tapped at its interiorcenter 55 to receive .a nozzle die56 which extendsv forwardly beyond the cover plate 53. The flanges 52 ofthe nozzle 5| engage the cover plate 53. Theinterior 55 of the nozzle 5|is tapered at 51 and matches with the interiorrearward end 58 of thenozzle die. 56 to provide a. smooth tapered 7 surface between theseparating plate and the discharge opening 56 of the.nozzle die.

In Figure 14 I haveshown a variation of the nozzle structure of Figure 4in which I have-illustrated another form of nozzle construction,

which employs a device for making a hollow strand into which I mayinsert a filler 2| .of

anothermaterialthan chewing gum, through a v tube 5|. This modificationis particularly adaptable to the heating of thevnozzle where it isneces- I 'sary to have easy extrusion of the gumand to have the gum ofproper consistency for passing out of the nozzle.

As an aid tothe discharge of the gum from the mixing machine I havefounditnecessary to heat the nozzle and the'nozzle die and my ex-'periments on the construction of a desirable heating device indicatedthenecessity of thermostatically controlling the heatat the dischargingI point. The temperture is maintained preferably between 109 and 116degrees Fahrenheit.

I have therefore illustrated {a form of heater which has been found tobe adaptable to the present invention. This'heater Bloomprises'a heatingelement 6| which surrounds the nozzle die and is fastened to the end 62of thenozzle 5|.

The ends 63 of the heating element 6| are secured in a receptacle and ata remote position from the heater is a thermostatic devic'e 65 which iscontrolled by a tube -66 placed near the opening of the nozzle 5l'andinsidethe casing or' cover plate 53. The tube 6651s filled with gaswhich expands and contracts thereby moving a switch to control theelectrical'supply to" the heater. v

The thermostat may betaken as a representation of any conventionalthermostat to control the heater and keep the extruding gum at constanttemperature. v

The heater proper comprises a casing 61 and a resistance coil 68 which.is placed in the casing and set in a mixture of plastic heat'conductive material 69 which after drying assumes a hardened condition.The heating system is supplied with connections 10 and II, which receiveelectrical energy at anysuitable source. The connection tothe source isautomaticallyturned off or on by the thermostat.

After the strand of gum 2| has passed outthrough the nozzle die 56 ofthe mixing machine,

form 15, slotted at .16. The forward end of the platform 15 is aperturedat 1'! for the reception of a cam 'IBsecured to and actuated by a shaft19 which extends transversely to the conveyor platform 15 to a positionoutside the casing 86 of the agitator 22, where a pulley 8| is securedto e the shaft I9. The pulley 8| is driven by a belt 82 from a pulley.83on a shaft 86 connected to a motor; 85 mounted upon a platform 86adjacent the agitator.

bracketsSOand 9 l One end of each of thecoiled springs is fastened tothe platform at 92' and the" other end is fastened to eachof thebrackets.

The .interior'of the bottom ofthe agitator is curvedat 93 and is shownas .of s'imilar shapeto the platform, with a space .94 between the vbot-H tom. 93 ;and the platform. a At the rear of the agi-' tator. interior,a resilient pad 95 isl inserted between the agitator co ntainer and anend plate 96,

to. which container the pad 95ispreferably fastened The agitator isprovided withia frdntwall 91 terior ofthe agitator. "j V Towards.thefront end and insideof the. agitator and along'theside walls 98 Iplace resilient. pads 99 which extend vertically from the bottom ofthe'agitator tothe top thereof. Thesejpads platform, the pads will actasa buffertoh'old the platform in a longitudinal position. The

pads are preferablym'ade'of felt.

At therear endof the agitator- 22 the platformv v 1.5 is connected tothe-side walls.8'l of thev;agi-' tatorframeby coiled springs 88 and;through 15 hich preventsthe escape of sugar fr'o'm the infiarepreferably fastened tothe side walls of the Y agitator. If the platformshould tendto move laterally due to the spring suspension of the Otherresilient pads I00 are positioned adjacent the stop 91 to aid in keepingthe platf rm lonigitudinally in line. 1 ii A brush Hll is fastened in asupport J02 and is attached to the agitator side Walls with the lbristles of the brush extending outwardly'to ena gagejthe'strand of,chewing gum as 'it is passed i through the sugaringniachine.

it travels through the sugaring'machine.

v Sugar is placed in the agitator interior to rest onthe bottom I64 ofthe agitator below and abovelthe platform'15. f v

The platformis agitated .by the action of the cam 'IlLon the camshaft 19through'the'pulleys and belt which'are motor driven. As the cam turns itwill move the platform up and down,,at

the same time the cam will tendfto move the strand forwardly. Themovement "forward will be aided somewhat by the pushingfo'rWard of thestrand when the gum is extrude'd 'fromthe mixer.

The movementof theplatform either up and down or forwardlyagitatesfthesugar H5" in the container to" cause the sugar to form in .735. .i.' e V The. platform is shown in the form of a trough with sidesI03 which help to guide the strand as' effect a cloud, which will dustabout thestrand on the platform and through thefs'lots in the platform,to cause the particles of" sugar. to adhere to the gum 'istr'and whichis susceptible to adhesion of such particles as the gum is stillwarmfrom'its heating for the extrusion operation.

'The brush Hll removes the surplus-sugar from the strand as the strandis passed from the agitatori onto the platfo'rm'24. Theplatform'flfhasupwardly turnededges'24' surrounding the entire. 6

platform excepting at the entrance I66 andthe exit H11, therebypreventing the strand from falling off the platform. Guiding members 2are provided on the platform to direct the strand to the re-shapingoperation.

After the strand has moved from the agitator onto the platform itassumes asnake or serpentine formation thereon andthis snake formationallows for differences in timing of the different ,devices used in myinvention and accommodates l for the travel of the strand as it ispassed from a onedevice to another. The curving of the strand alsoallows for its cooling sufficiently for re-shaping, cutting and wrappingas hereinafter "described; On leaving the platform 24, the "strandpassesbetween guides 24 at the exit of the platform.

The strand now passes through laterally adjustable guide members I08,then through a set of horizontal rollers I09, through verticallydisposed sets of rollers H0, and on through other driven the fastestbecause they must pass the gum of smallest cross-section and greatestlengthper pound. For convenience. I will describe briefiy the. drivingof the sets of rollers I09 and H0, omitting the description of thedriving of the sets of rollers III and H2, which is largely a'duplication. The motor-driven sprocket I I4 drives the sprocket I I5 bythe chain 5'. The drivensprocket H5 is on the shaft II6, which carries abevel gear III, engaging a bevel gear II8 on the same shaft as one ofthe vertical rollers I I0. The other vertical roller I I0 is driven bythe gears II9 and I20 connecting the vertical rollers IIII.

On the shaft H6 a second sprocket I2I drives one of the horizontalrollers I09 by a chain I22 connecting to a sprocket I23 on the sameshaft as one of the horizontal rollers I09. The horizontal rollers I09are interconnected by gears I24 and I25. To adjust the size of thestrand,

the sets of rollers'I09, 0,111 and 2 are roll I29 hung from springs. I29positioned in changed.

The guide members I08 may be adjusted by loosening the screws I26.

The strand, while it has cooled somewhat in its course of travel fromthe mixer to the cutter,

is still warm when it reaches the knife 26 for the cutting operation.

After the strand is cut by the rotating knife 26, the individual piecesare moved forwardly gum is in a condition for easier handling andreducing due to the fact that it has been cooled somewhat and thereforeis in a better workable condition than when it has first left theextruder "in its heated condition, and due to the fact that the sugaredgum is less likely to stick to the reducing rollers.

When the gum has reached the cutter 26 it has been reduced to' itsproper size for insertion in a wrapper, but the sugar coating suppliedby the agitator has not been removed.

An important feature of my invention is the particular kind of a knifethat I employ for cutting the strand at the point of wrapping.

I prefer to use a replaceable knife blade having serrations 26' thereon,which I have found to produce the result desired in which, with rotaryoperation of the knife blade, sugar from the strand of gum engages inthe serrationsto prevent the gum in its sticky condition from adheringto the knife blade. This cutting operation has always been troublesometo manufacturers and packers .of chewing gurn and the fact that I haveprovided the sugar retaining serrations in the knife blade has overcomethe previous objection to using a rotary knife.

In the form of knife construction I have preferred to place the knifeblade 26 in a recess'I36 in a circular member :37. This however is onlyone of the many forms of mounting of the knlf blade that may beemployed. a

I have also illustrated in Figure 12a a modification'of the knife bladeof Figure 12, and in which I have shown crossed serrations 26 The theoryof operation ,isthat the side faces of the cutting knife shall carrysugar in them, or retain sugar as a .protectionagainst the gum stickingto the side faces. For this purpose recesses are provided inthe sideface of the knife within which the sugar collects and which not by apusher I21 to come in contact with a continuous strip supply ofpaper'l28 from'over a front of a slot I30 in a recessed drum I3I on adrum shaft I32 which is controlled by a Geneva wheel (not 'shown).

After the individual piece of gum is brought to a position'within thepaper I28 in one ofthe recesses of the drum, 2. pair of scissors I33are.

operated to cut an individual wrap of paper I34 from the paper strip. I,

The drum is rotated to cause the gum that has been partially coveredwith an individual wrap to be moved to a position 180 awayfrom the guidemembers I08 because a larger strand is' easier to handle and because thelarger strand will not be 'soliable to break or twist unduly. I havetherefore preferred to place my reducing rollers beyond the takeupplatform rather than have them positioned before the agitator, as theonly by the presence of the sugar. at intervals break up the continuityof the knife surface which would otherwise contribute to the sticking ofthe gum to, the, knife, but if properly made can allow sugarto fall outfrom therecesses as the knife is cutting, thus interposing sugar betweenthe gum and the unrecessed parts of the .side surfaces of the knife.

I find that longitudinal slots which may be notched or grooved, such asare shown in Figure 12 give very satisfactory results and that the knifeoperates well also when the projecting parts between the recesses arefurther out up by other recesses transverse or diagonal to the firstrecesses, forming a checker surface, as shown in Figure 12a.

In calling these slots serrations generally throughout thespecification, I am seeking merely a convenient word and do not wish toimply that they must have as sharply defined side edges as accompanyserrations in many of the arts.

It will be evident that the platform upon which the strand of gum iscarried andby which it is in part fed, during the agitation for'thepurpose of applying sugar, is in effect a swinging cradle which not onlylifts and lowers but concurrently moves forward and backward; and thatbecause of the pressure from the strand being extruded back of it theforward and upward impulses of the cradle are effective'to assist infeeding of the strand but the rearward and downward impulses of theplatform, or cradle, do not correspondingly retract the strand. Theplatform or cradle thus has a stroking movement upon the under side ofthe strand. 1

It will be evident that the heater at the extruder nozzle cooperateswith the extruder to render extrusion easier and cooperates with thesugaring device by heating the surface of the strand after it is formedso that the sugar, when applied, will readily adhere as well as cool thesurface of the strand.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations modifications to meetindividual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toothers skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of myinvention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claimall such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scopeof my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: I

1. Mechanism for handling chewing gum rapidlyincluding means forextruding a strand of gum of bulky section substantially as thick as itis wide, means for surface-heating the gum in extrusion tosurface-tackiness, means operative by shaking a travel-portion of thestrand with sugar and thus surface-cooling and surfacesweetening thetravelling strand, means for sectionally reducing the surface-cooled andsurface- 2. Mechanism.fo handling chewing gum rapidly, includingr'ri'eans for extruding a strand of gum of bulky section substantiallyas thick as it is wide, means for surface heating the gum 'in extrusionto surface tackiness, means for sugaring the surface of the strand, thussurface cooling and surface sweetening it, means for sectionallyreducingthe surface cooled and surface sweetened travelling strand and means fortransversely --'cutting and immediately wrapping the cut pieces.

3. Mechanism for handling chewing gum rapidly, including means forextruding a strand of gum of bulky section substantially as thick as itis wide having a heated and tacky surface, means for sugaring thesurface of the strand and thus surface cooling and surface sweeteningthe travelling strand, means for sectionally reducing the surface cooledand surface sweetened travelling strand, and means for transverselycutting and immediately wrapping the cut pieces.

JACOB WARREN BOWMAN.

